Chandigarh, April 11: Punjab Finance Minister Harpal Singh Cheema on Thursday said the arrest of a Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) inspector in a cross-border drug trafficking case revealed the involvement of enforcement officers from outside the state in Punjab’s narcotics trade.
Cheema, who also chairs the Cabinet sub-committee overseeing the state’s anti-drug campaign, made the remarks a day after Amritsar police arrested the Central agency officer along with seven others and recovered over 4 kg of heroin from their possession. The accused DRI inspector hails from Rohtak in Haryana.
“The arrest of a Central enforcement officer exposes a troubling nexus and shows how deeply the roots of the drug trade run—even within institutions meant to fight it,” Cheema said at a press conference held at Punjab Bhawan. He assured that an in-depth investigation would be launched to trace the kingpin and that action would be taken “irrespective of anyone’s rank or agency.”
He further raised concerns about the Union government’s role, saying, “While Punjab is fulfilling its responsibility to fight the cross-border drug problem, the Central government appears to be falling short.”
Sharing updates on the state’s ongoing campaign ‘Yudh Nashian De Virudh,’ launched on March 1, Cheema said Punjab Police had registered 3,279 cases under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act in the past 41 days. A total of 5,537 people had been arrested during this period, he added.
According to Cheema, the crackdown led to the seizure of 212 kg of heroin, 6,945 kg of poppy husk, 105 kg of opium, 50 kg of ganja, 6 kg of charas, and nearly nine lakh banned tablets and capsules. Authorities also confiscated ₹6 crore in drug money and demolished illegal properties belonging to 57 drug smugglers.
“The state government is committed to dismantling every layer of the drug network and ensuring those responsible are brought to justice,” Cheema said.
